Roller assembly transfer ramp



April 11, 1961 H. o. HAMRE ROLLER ASSEMBLY TRANSFER RAMP Filed May 2l, 1958 vby the normal progress of additional cartons.

United States Patent ROLLER ASSEMBLY TRANSFER RAMP Hiram 0. Hamre, 1622 49th Ave. N., Minneapolis,

Minn., assignor of one-half to Mayme R. Hamre, Mlnneapolis, Minn.

Filed May 21, 1958, Ser. No. 736,725

` Claims. (Cl. 193-35) This invention relates to roller assemblies. More particularly it relates to longitudinally extensible roller assemblies and a transfer ramp for use in conjunction therewith to facilitate vthe movement of cartons from one roller section to another across the roller assembly. The use of longitudinally extensible roller assemblies has long been known, but heretofore a very annoying problem has always existed in moving relatively heavy cartons across the roller assembly in that the cartons tend to become lodged or blocked at points adjacent where the cartons are to move from one roller section to another. This is particularly true in situations where the roller sections are inclined and arranged in overlapping relation so that when the roller assembly is collapsed or at its shortest length, one section will be superimposed relative to the other and when the assembly is to be extended, the one section moves longitudinally of the other, with the lower end portion of the upper section resting or bearing upon the upper end portion of the lower section of the roller assembly. The difficulty most frequently experienced is that the cartons in descending from the upper section frequently engage and become lodged againsta roller of the lower roller section. This is particularly true of heavy rectangularly shaped cartons which have relatively sharp corners, for the cartons often extend downwardly between the' adjacent rollers and cannot be budged from that position In such instances, it is necessary for the users of the roller assembly to walk to the point where the carton is lodged and cause it to become disengaged and to again move freely along the length of the roller assembly. My invention is designed to obviate these dil'liculties.

It is a general object of my invention to provide a novel and improved longitudinally extensible roller assembly.

A more specific object is to provide a novel and improved transfer ramp for use in conjunction with a pair of superimposed roller sections movable longitudinally of each other in such a manner as to facilitate the movement of cartons from the upper to the lower sections of the roller assembly.

Another object is to provide an improved transfer ramp of the type described having a self-locking feature which will readily permit longitudinal extension of a roller assembly while at the same time automatically locking the assembly against collapse.

Another object is to provide a novel and improved transfer ramp of the type described which can be manufactured simply and inexpensively and need not be attended in use. Another object is to provide a novel and improved transfer ramp of the type described which will permit the roller assembly with which it is used to be extended at will without necessitating attention at the point at which the transfer ramp is applied.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will more fully appear from the following descrip- Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the transfer ramp; v

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 4--4 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 5 is a vertical lsectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

One embodiment of my invention as illustrated in Figs. l-5 may include a longitudinally extensible roller assembly indicated generally by the letter A. As v shown, this assembly is comprised of a pair of sections 6 and 7, each of which is inclined and which are capable of longitudinal movement relative to the other. It will be noted that the upper end portion of the section 7 may be supported by a pair of cartons 8 while the upper end of the section 6 and the lower end of the section 7 may be supported by a single carton 9 `and the lower end of the section 6 may be supported by a smaller carton 10. This is a conventional manner of supporting the sections of such a roller assembly as shown in Fig. 1 in the unloading of box cars trucks, trailers, etc., wherein it is necessary to commence the unloading at an outer l point relative to the interior of the trailer, for example,

with the roller assembly A -in relatively collapsed posi-V tion and to extend the sections of the roller assembly as the unloading operation progresses by merely pulling the section 7 farther inwardly to the interior of the trailer and thereby making the goods or cartons to be moved on the roller assembly more readily available to the assembly. This obviously reduces the Aamount of labor involved in getting the cartons onto the roller assembly to the desired location.

It will be notedthat the sections 6 and 7 of the roller assembly A are in vertically overlapped relation and that each is provided with a plurality of rollers such as indicated by the numerals 11. These rollers as shown, are

carried by transversely extending axles such as is indicated by the numeral 12. The axle 12 which is disposed at the lower end of the section 7 is somewhat longer than the other axles in that it extends laterally outwardly beyond the side rails 13 of the section 7 for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

The transfer ramp which I utilize in conjunction with the two sections 6 and 7 of the roller assembly A is comprised of a pair of support members 14 and 15. These support members 14 and 15, `as shown, are comprised of plates of relatively heavy metal. The plate 14 is substantially longer than the plate 15, although of course, it will be understood that the plate 15 may be longer without any adverse effect. The proportion shown however, is

tion of space and material. The two plates 14 and 15 are hingedly connected together by means of a transversely extending pivot rod 16 which extends through pivot sleeves 15a of the plate 15 and pivot sleeves 14a of the plate 14. These pivot sleeves 14a `and 15a are formed by cutting the respective plates at points spaced transversely of the plate and bending the portions so as to form transversely extending sleeves thereon. rod 16 extends through these sleeves so as to hingedly connect the two plates 14 and 15 together so that the plate 15 may pivot relative to the plate 14.

The plate 14 is provided with a pair of recesses or notches indicated by the numeral 17. These recesses or notches are formed in the upper edge of theplate 14 so that the rollers 11 carried by the axle 12 at the lower end of the roller section 7 may rotate freely without Patented Apr. 11, 1961 The pivot being engaged by the plate 14. As can best be seen by reference to Fig. 1, the -rollers 1'1 extend into these recesses.

Rigidly secured to the underside of the plate 14 adjacent its lower end and adjacent the pivot rod 16 is an inverted U-shaped guide element 18. As best shown in Fig. 2, this guide element 18 extends transversely of the plate 14 and has a pair of depending legs or arms 18a and 18b which fit and extend downwardly along the outer sides of the rails of the lower section 6 of the roller assembly so as to preclude lateral shifting of the lower end of the plate 14 and of the plate 15.

Also secured to the underside of the plate 14 is a roller engaging locking means indicated generally by `the letter M. This locking means M is comprised of an inverted U-shaped locking element 19 which is pivotally connected by a hinge plate 20 to the underside of the plate 14. This locking element 19 has welded thereto an abutment or stop member 21 which is so formed as to permit the element 19 to swing from a depending and locking position as shown in solid lines in Fig. 3 to unlocked posit-ion shown in Fig. 3 in broken lines. It will be noted that when the locking element moves to the broken line position, it is swinging toward the pivot rod 16 and away from Ithe forward and upper end of the plate 14. The element 21 prevents the locking element 19 from ever swinging to the right as viewed in Fig. 3. The element 19 normally hangs downwardly to a position where it engages the adjacent axle 12 of the lower section 6 of the roller assembly A.

Secured to the upper end of the plate 14 adjacent its side edges is a pair of depending hook elements 22 and 23. These hook elements 22 and 23 face downwardly and are adapted to engage the laterally extending portion of the axle which carries the lower set of rollers of the section 7. For the sake of identification, this particular axle has been identified in Fig. l by the numeral 24.

By reference to Fig. 3, it can be seen that the upper edge of the plate 14 is bent downwardly as indicated at the numeral 25, in order to facilitate the movement of cartons such as is indicated by the numeral 26 onto the plate 14 to facilitate the transfer of the same onto the lower section 6 of the roller assembly A.

In use, the two sections 6 and 7 of the roller assembly A are arranged `as shown in Fig. 1 except that in the initial stages of the unloading operation, the two sections will be in a more relatively collapsed relation in that the section 7 will be disposed farther to the left as viewed in Fig. 1. As the unloading operation progresses, the section 7 may be moved to the right until it reaches a com- Y pletely extended relation to the section 6. In any event, the transfer ramp is applied to the laterally extending portions of the axle 24 by causing the hook members 22 and 23 to engage the same. In `so doing, the plate member 14 is pivotally connected to the axle 24 and incidently to the roller section 7. The plate is permitted to rest upon the rollers of the roller section 6. As best seen in Fig. 1, the guiding element 13 will then be so disposed that its depending ilegs or arms 18a and 181) will extend downwardly along the outer sides of the rails of the lower section 6. At the same time the locking element 19 will hang downwardly in position to engage one of the axles l2 of the lower section 6 to thereby preclude longitudinal collapse of the roller assembly A. If `it is desired to extend the roller assembly A, `the user needs only to draw the upper end of the section 7 which is the end at the extreme right as viewed in Fig. l, farther to the right and thereby cause that section to extend the assembly A. As a result, the section 7 may be moved to the right so that as the goods are unloaded from the trailer, for example, the inner `and upper end of the section 7 may always be disposed closely adjacent to the supply of cartons to be moved.

In moving the section 7 to the right relative to the section 6, the lock element 19 will swing to the broken line position shown in Fig. 3 as the locking element and abutment member 21 engage the transversely extending axles 12 of that section. When the movement to the right as viewed in Fig. 1 is terminated, the locking element 19 will automatically depend to a position through the force of gravity where it will engage one of the transversely extending axles 12 to thereby preclude lateral collapse of the assembly A by preventing the section 7 from moving `to the left as viewed in Fig. 1.

The use of the hinged plate members 14 and 15 positively preclude the possibility of a carton such as 26 becoming lodged against one of the transversely extending roller axles and thereby causing unnecessary work and delay in the unloading operation. The carton 26 will slide downwardly over the plate 14 and when it engages the plate 15 it will move along smoothly without any possibility of becoming lodged at that point. 'Ihe succeeding carton behind it will cause it to move forwardly onto the rollers 11 of the section 6 and thereafter progress to the left as viewed in Fig. l.

From the above it can be readily seen that I have provided a novel and improved transfer ramp which when utilized in combination with a pair of roller sections 6 and`7 provide an improved longitudinally extensible roller assembly capable of receiving and moving a plurality of cartons without unnecessary work and delay being caused by some of the cartons becoming lodged and jammed at the point where the cartons should move from the upper section to the lower section of the roller assembly. The use of my transfer ramp substantially reduces loss of time and labor and therefore effectively reduces the cost of handling such cartons and unloading trailers and the like and at the same time obviates the inconvenience and aggravation caused when such cartons become jammed at the juncture point of a pair of roller sections as has heretofore been the case.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

l. In a longitudinally extensible roller type conveyor assembly including a pair of inclined roller sections arranged in superimposed relation to each other and being movable one longitudinally of the other, a ramp for facilitating transfer of conveyed articles from one section to another, said ramp extending between the lower end portion of the top section and the bottom section and being adapted for securement to said top section, and locking means pivotally suspended from said ramp extending downwardly between adjacent rollers of said bottom section for engagement therewith, and restraining means cooperatively interconnecting said ramp and said locking means limiting the swinging movement of said locking means in one direction and preventing relative longitudinal contracting movement between said sections.

2. The assembly set forth in claim l, wherein said restraining means comprises an abutment member carried by said locking means and adapted to engage said ramp to limit the swinging movement of said locking means in one direction only.

3. In a longitudinally extensible roller type conveyor assembly including a pair of inclined roller sections arranged in superimposed relation to each other and being movable one longitudinally of the other, a ramp for facilitating transfer of conveyed articles from one section to another, said ramp being secured to said upper section and extending between the lower end portion of the top section and the bottom sections, and locking means pivotally suspended from said ramp extending downwardly between adjacent rollers of said bottom section for engagement therewith, and restraining means interconnecting said ramp and said locking means limiting backward swinging movement of `said locking means past a pedetermined iixed position, said locking means when in said predetermined fixed position being adapted to engage the rollers of said bottom section to prevent relative contracting longitudinal movement therebetween, said locking means being adapted for free forward swinging movement so as to freely traverse the rollers of said lower section to permit free relative longitudinal extensible movement between said sections.

4. In a longitudinally extensible roller type conveyor assembly including a pair of inclined roller sections arranged in superimposed relation to each other and being movable one longitudinally of the other, a ramp for facilitating transfer of conveyed articles from one section to another, said ramp being adapted for securement to said top section and extending between the lower end portion of the top section and the bottom section, an elongate locking arm pivotally suspended from said ramp for free swinging movement with respect thereto and adapted to extend between and engage the rollers of said lower section, and an arm restraining element adapted to engage said arm and said ramp to thereby limit swinging movement of said one arm in one direction past a predetermined xed position, said arm when in predetermined xed position being adapted to engage the rollers of said bottom section to prevent relative longitudinal collapsing movement between said sections, said arm being freely swingable in said other direction to freely traverse the rollers of said bottom section upon relative longitudinal extensible movement between said sections.

5. In a longitudinally extensible roller type conveyor assembly including a pair of inclined roller sections arranged in superimposed relation to each other and being movable one longitudinally of the other, a ramp for facilitating transfer of conveyed articles from one section to another, said ramp being adapted for securement to said top section and extending between the lower end portion of the top section and the bottom section, and locking means pivotally suspended from said ramp extending downwardly between adjacent -rollers of said bottom section for engagement therewith, and means limiting the swinging movement of said locking means towards said top section only and preventing movement thereof past a predetermined fixed locking position, said locking means when in said xed position being adapted to engage the rollers of said roller section to prevent relative longitudinal collapsing movement of said sections.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 747,899 Wall Dec. 22, 1903 2,609,076 Brent Sept. 2, 1952 2,613,788 McLaughlin Oct. 14, 1952 2,659,914 Law Nov. 24, 1953 2,760,617 Bowen Aug. 28, 1956 

